Want to successfully get into shape and maintain a healthy lifestyle but lack the self-discipline to go it alone? North East Life has some creative solutions to help you reach your goals

As the familiar warm rush of sunshine heralds the beginning of spring, thoughts quickly turn to looking and feeling good this summer.

Whether you want to slim down and shape up for a brand new summer wardrobe or have simply decided you need to commit to a fitness plan, often your own worst enemy to getting fit is that procrastination which lies in us all.

Committing to a healthier lifestyle and finding time to incorporate regular exercise into a frenetic working week and busy family life is often difficult and needs determination.

Setting health goals and firmly adhering to them is much easier in theory than in practice. The solution is to find someone who can help you stick to your health goals with gentle reminders which will keep you on track.

Jenny Evans, Life Coach at Rainbows End says: If you want to improve yourself, start by prioritising what is important about your health right now - do you want to become fitter, improve your immunity to health problems or start living a healthier lifestyle?

Working with a coach can help you to visualise the "future you" and get a clear image of what you want to achieve and the steps needed to get you there. Make a realistic assessment of what is achievable and ask yourself what sort of exercise would be right for me.

Jenny says that to help maintain motivation to succeed with your goals, you need to set realistic milestones along your journey and celebrate success as you go along.

Try getting a friend involved as when your motivation is low, the desire to not let your friend down will pull you through. Be clear from the outset what success will look like for you. Is it feeling more confident in your body or being able to play sports with the kids or avoiding the negative health effects of certain behaviours such as relying on your car too heavily.

For some joining a gym and committing to exercise classes which fit around their schedule is an excellent way to start improving fitness. The added bonus of having to pay or book in advance is great for providing motivation and ensures there is less risk of making excuses not to go ahead with your proposed fitness session.

Often the group experience of exercise and the camaraderie of learning the moves together makes it not only enjoyable, but also a stress release from a busy day while being excellent for improving all-round wellbeing alongside the toning and conditioning benefits for your body.

Headlam Spa is a countryside retreat with breathtaking scenery and has an outdoor hydrotherapy pool. The spa has the latest Technogym equipment including nine cardiovascular machines with built in personal TVs and eight resistance machines providing the complete workout.

If you would rather avoid the gym environment, the studio is designed for classes of up to ten and includes exercise programmes including Aerotone, Fitball, Pump Fx, Combat, Salsa Tone, Pilates and Tai Chi.

One-to-one training is also available from the team of dedicated professionals for that extra focus on your fitness goals if you prefer the idea of exercising alone with a personal trainer or if the allotted times for the classes are unsuitable for you.

If it is your attitude towards living a healthier lifestyle that requires overhauling, one North East lady has designed a concept which will transform the way you think about diet and exercis

Andrea Bell is the woman behind Weight Loss For Life, which works on the premise that not all people are the same and that weight gain and lifestyle habits occur for diverse reasons. Each person is given a unique weight loss/healthy living plan to encourage realistic lifestyle changes that can be maintained long-term.

The programme promotes a non-diet approach to ensure participants do not feel deprived or overwhelmed by their healthy living plan by educating participants on barriers to weight loss, nutrition guidelines, how to include physical activity into a daily routine, how to exact self control and how to remain motivated. The Weight Loss For Life programme is conducted in small groups and also incorporates exercise classes situated in a community centre setting including body conditioning, step and tone plus body and core workouts.

Andrea says: Weight Loss For Life aims to find ways for anyone to lose weight even if they do not like going to the gym or attending an exercise class by finding alternative ways of becoming more active.

This can include parking further away from your destination, using the stairs rather than the lift, investigating hobbies that involve being active and exploring ways of keeping fit if you have restricting conditions such as back or knee pain.

Take time to find the right form of exercise for you and adapt your lifestyle with small but significant changes and visualise the toned confident new you all geared up for summer.